An Elmwood committee is recommending that the township give voters another chance to approve the same fire millage rate that they trounced earlier this month.

The township public safety committee at a special meeting Tuesday did recommend that the total millage rate be divided into two categories on the ballot: One to fund fire department operations, another to pay for new equipment, according to supervisor Derith Smith.

A special meeting of the Township Board has been set for 7 p.m. Monday to decide what millage request to place before voters in the Nov. 6 General Election. The decision will need to be provided to the county clerk the following day to reserve space on the ballot.

In an election held Aug. 7, some 77 percent of 634 residents voting opposed a 1.572 mill proposal to fund the fire department.

Ballot wording did not separate operation from equipment expenses, although a township “informational” flyer mailed to residents stated that .472 mill of the total would be reserved for capital expenses.

Many of the residents who publicly opposed the millage were concerned that no accounting was made of the $80,000 to $100,000 traditionally paid from the township General Fund for fire protection.

But Smith said the committee found it important to provide a funding source for the fire department independent of the township General Fund.

“We’re all in agreement we want to separate finances for emergency services from the General Fund,” said Smith. She and township trustees Jim O’Rourke and Paul Walter make up the committee.

Smith said projections used to determine the 1.572-mill proposal will be verified prior to the board’s special meeting. Slight changes are possible, she added. An annual cost-of-living increase of 3 percent is being factored into the request, and interest rates affecting the cost of loans needed to buy new equipment have been increasing, she said.

Smith said the township will seek to better inform residents that the portion of their property taxes used to pay for fire operations has decreased in recent years. She said a .6 mill property tax had been reduced to .4 mill, and a 1.5 mill property tax was eliminated after the township paid off a new fire hall.

The present fire property tax has been further reduced to .3765 mill by the Headlee amendment to the State Constitution. If a new property tax is approved, the Township Board has pledged not to collect the present levy.